Monday, April 29, 2013

What exactly is Fiverr, you ask? It's a site where people will do just about anything for $5! It ranges from the completely bizarre, like a woman that will record a video hula hooping while saying anything you want, to very useful things like website logo creation, business promotion, YouTube video creation, etc. Check out the full post that I did over on my niche site. You'll be surprised at all the different things you can get someone to do for just $5, there really is something for everyone!

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

I like to FaceTime chat with my nephew Max when I get home from work cause he's just waking up and always fun! Monday I got to follow along as we got Max and his cousin Kinsley up from their naps. I love that they're so attentive and they always smile when they see me. I might not be there in person, but it's the next best thing. I also got him to do his head shake thing 3 times, he made the fart/raspberry noise on command and since I said "cracker" they both got to get a cracker as well. You're welcome guys!

Monday, April 22, 2013

Best Smoothie Blender

First off, I want to give a point of reference. We previously had a Black and Decker BL5000 blender and that thing was the absolute worst for smoothies! I fought with that thing for about a month, thinking that all blenders must work the same way, but all blenders are NOT created equal.

The issue I had with the old one was that the blade would spin forever and none of the frozen fruit would make it down to the blade to get chopped up. No matter what setting it was on, no matter how much liquid I added, no matter how many times I took the glass container off and shook it, it would take forever to end up with an actual drinkable smoothie.

My sister Jen had turned me on to smoothies several months back and she never seemed to have a problem making hers. She was using the Magic Bullet and that is what I decided to try out as well. I read a ton of reviews, some great, some middle of the road, but based on Jen's good experiences I decided to go for it and am so glad I did.

I have probably 3 smoothies a week on average and I think the wifey has one or two as well. I utilize frozen strawberries and a frozen bag mix of blackberries/blueberries and raspberries, along with a banana, sometimes spinach and flaxseed mix combined with some ice and water. I occasionally add protein powder for post workout smoothies also.

The Magic Bullet does a great job grinding down all of that into a super tasty smoothie with no lumps. What I like most is that it is fast and there is hardly any cleanup required. Since the cup is actually what holds your mixture, you only have to clean the bottom blade part after your smoothie is done which takes 2 seconds. Here is a quick video showing how quick/easy it is to make a smoothie:

After you're done drinking the smoothie you have to clean your cup, but that's it. No huge container to cleanup and store each time.

The 26 piece Magic Bullet kit comes with a ton of different cup sizes and tops and mine came with the standard 2 blades and 1 new ice shaver blade as well.

I have utilized mine exclusively for smoothies, well actually I also made one Strawberry Daiquiri with it also, but if you are looking to do lots of stuff with the Magic Bullet, it comes with a ton of simple recipes as well. The wifey utilized it to make fresh salsa one time and it turned out great.

Conclusion

Bottom line, if you're looking for a blender for smoothies, look no further. The Magic Bullet is it! I've utilized it for 4 months now with no issues whatsoever. It just works.

One suggestion, be sure to get smoothie straws also, they work great. Enjoy!

Monday, April 15, 2013

This past weekend we had a rehearsal dinner on Friday and wedding to attend on Saturday. Our good friends Sean and Rachel were getting married and we were asked to do a reading at the ceremony. They are the friends we hang out the most with and we always have a good time.

I met Sean when we worked together shortly after we moved here in 2003 and we've been good friends ever since. Sean met Rachel at work as well a few years later and Rachel and my wifey became good friends as well.Our reading had a portion about a truce bell. The bell is for them to ring if an argument arises and they want to put a stop to it. They asked us to do the reading because they say we 'never' fight, not entirely true of course. We were honored to take part in their special day and everything went off without a hitch.

Here is the reading: "Early 16th century legend tells us that a fishing
boat from an Irish village was captured by pirates and the crew taken as
slaves. One man, Richard Joyce, was to be married the same week he was
captured. Years went by and Richard became a master goldsmith and shaped a
unique ring for the girl he could never forget at home. The design was born
from their love. At the center, a heart symbolizing their love, on top a crown
symbolizing their loyalty, and two hands holding the heart, symbolizing the
friendship they shared. After eight years, he escaped and returned to his
village to find his love had never married. He gave her the ring and they were
soon married.

We ask God to bless this bell today for Sean and Rachel as a
symbol of their love, loyalty and friendship. Should a quarrel or lover’s tiff
arise, Sean and Rachel should ring the bell to remind them of the love they
feel today.

Anna and Sydney (Sean's daughters) tell us they believe this bell will get a
good workout."

Great friends, good times and a very happy couple. Congrats to Sean and Rachel and we wish them a lifetime of happiness together!

Friday, April 5, 2013

Our nephew Max is at that so freakin cute/fun stage and it is always great when I get to see him on FaceTime. Today I needed a dose of Max and as always, he did not disappoint! He always does something funny. He is so good at imitating, like if I stick my tongue out or shake my head he will do it also.

Today he was doing something new, his Daddy taught him how to shake his head back and forth real fast and with all that hair he has, he had me laughing so hard that he kept doing it cause he knew I was getting a kick out of it.

And right after, he almost gave his cousin Kinsley another "love" bite. Close call.

And at the end when it was nap time, GiGi told him to give kisses and he took out his pacifier and would give kisses to the iPad screen. So cute. Love the Buddo!

Monday, April 1, 2013

My mom came to visit Wednesday night-Sunday evening of Easter weekend for some good eats, good times and relaxation. She picked a great weekend weather wise, started out a bit cooler in the high 60s when she arrived, but picked right up to the mid to upper 70s by Saturday/Sunday. I'll give you the full play-by-play of the weekend activities.

On the agenda were visits to several new restaurants she hasn't been to and a few favorites as well. On the way back from the airport to pick her up we spontaneously hit up Seasons 52 at the Town Center. That is a nice place with good ambiance and a portion of their menu changes with the seasons. All the entrees and desserts are under 550 calories or something like that, but they're still filling.

Seasons 52 dessert for Mom

Thursday night we walked over to our local Mexican place and my mom not being a big fan of Mexican, always gets the chicken wings, but we have to say, they are pretty darn good!

In between all the eating, we got in a few nice long walks on the beach. 2.8 miles down to the pylons on Friday and 3.2 miles down to the pier and some shops on Saturday.

Friday night we hit up KC Crave, which is another yummy local place at the beach that opened up within the last year or so. After dinner, we went over to Nippers Beach Grille and Billy's Boat House for some live music, drinks and to check out the sunset over the Intracoastal waterway.

Dinner at KC Crave

Drinks & Live Music at Nippers/Billy's Boathouse Marina

Sunset over the Intracoastal waterway

Interesting Hula girl on the hood of a car in the parking lot

We also decided to hit up the St Augustine Trolley Tour as a little touristy something to do since we were heading down that way for dinner Saturday night.

Freaky machine at the "penny" arcade by the Trolley

Mom on the trolley

St Augustine Bay Front

Magnolia Street with a mossy tree canopy on the Trolley Tour

Apparently, the colder temperatures in the north and one of the first perfect weekends weather wise down here gave lots of folks the idea to go to St Augustine for the weekend. It was the busiest we've ever see it and the Trolley guy said the only other time he's seen it this busy is the 4th of July weekend. He had been pulling double shifts for 2 weeks, since this is Spring break time for lots of folks and the Easter weekend as well.

That turned the normally 90 minute Trolley ride into a full 2 hours just to make the one loop around the downtown St Augustine area. That was fine for something different to do, but whew, it sure was a bumpy ride and so many stops with all the traffic made it a bit long. Had it not been as busy, we could have fit in a stop at the San Sebastian winery or taken a tour of the Whetstone Chocolate factory.

We went to Cap's on the Water for dinner, one of my Mom's favorite places to go.

View from our table at Cap's on the Water

And we ended up the weekend Sunday with some homemade Minastra, which is basically a Zucchini soup type dish from my Gma, that the wifey does a wonderful job with. Not your traditional Easter dinner faire, but something my Mom has been wanting for a while and I love it any time!!

All in all some very good eats, drinks and good times. And of course we were keeping up with my sisters via pictures of Max and Hadley, as they were together for Easter weekend in Mississippi.